First Impressions and Judgments

Today I read 2 Corinthians 10 and the main thing I took away was looking upon the outward appearance. Or rather that we should avoid looking upon the outward appearance of others. But that is very hard to do. As soon as we see someone we are making judgments about them. We see someone who is overweight and we immediately formulate thoughts about how they do not exercise or they eat too much. We someone dressed all in black with lots of piercings and we immediately decide we do not want to associate with someone like that. The reason we wear our best clothing to a job interview is because we want to show that we are taking it seriously and that we really want the job in question.

First impressions happen all the time and they are ok, as long as you keep an open mind and wait to see if your first impression is accurate or if it needs to be tailored based on what you find when you get to know the person. It is very hard to erase a first impression once it is made though that is why people try so hard the first go around to make sure that they give the type of impression they want. That is why women agonize over what they are going to wear. That is why men take the time to shave and groom themselves appropriately. All of this is so that they give off the type of impression they want to. Because whether or not you want to give off an impression, you will. There is no avoiding it.

So as Latter-day Saints, or Christians in general, what type of impression should we strive to give off? Well, since we are the disciples of Christ and people look at us to see what we will do in any given situation, I suggest that we need to give off the same type of impression that Christ would give if He were here. We would not expect Christ to show up anywhere looking like He just rolled out of bed. We would not expect Christ to wear clothing that is soiled with food or anything else. We would not expect Jesus to use language that is offensive or too casual. We would expect to hear Jesus speak with exactness and choose every word carefully. I would expect to hear Jesus laugh when it is appropriate to do so, but only at the right types of things. I would never expect Jesus to laugh at or tell an off color joke. And if He wouldn't why should we?

People are always watching Latter-day Saints. Some watch to see us slip up. Some watch us because they wish they could be as obedient as we are. Others watch to see if they can cause us to slip. Regardless of the reason, once it is known that you are a Latter-day Saint, you are always on stage and there is no getting around it. But knowing this should help you commit to doing what is right at all times so that you don't have to worry about the fact that you are being watched. It is not easy to live all the commandments all of the time, but it is possible to keep all the big ones all the time. As we live the life Jesus would live, the kind of life we should desire to live, eventually we will no longer have the desire to do that which is wrong. We will change and overcome the natural man. When this happens you will not even have to consciously think about what you are doing and if you are giving off a good impression, it will just happen automatically. That is what we should be striving for. Keep working towards letting the good in you shine forth and you will see the good in others and you will be able to make appropriate judgements and know that the first impression you have of that other person is accurate and true. Until tomorrow.